Many executives head to Asia in the hope that the experience they get working in rapidly growing and changing markets will give them a competitive advantage. That’s not a bad plan: Asia is a region that rewards fast learners.

Studies show that global roles are different. Global executives experience far more complexity, flux, and ambiguity in their jobs than do domestic executives. They deal with a multiplicity of stakeholders across diverse cultures and boundaries. Intelligence alone doesn’t lead to success.

Leadership is visceral. It requires interaction and reaction, trial and error. Leaders touch their teams and push them forward. And they develop in their people the capacity to thrive in this new volatile and ambiguous world.

It would be a mistake to assume that KC needed to be someone he was not in order to succeed in his new role. That was KC's fear. Through coaching, he figured out how to use his strengths while learning new skills.